St. Paul wishes, in a moment of ferocity, that the false teachers at Galatia, who were so zealous for circumcision, would stop messing around with half-measures and cut the whole thing off (Gal. 5:12). The reason he had for desiring this is that they were troubling (anastatoo) the church there. Judging from the two other …
And We Do It Very Well
“What is science? The method by which man tries to conceal his ignorance” (Charles Spurgeon, An All-Round Ministry, p. 97).
With or Through?
“Has there ever been a more perfect instrument for seeing with rather than through the eye, than the camera?” (Malcolm Muggeridge, Christ and the Media, p. 62).
Dikai-Infusions and Dikai-Imputations
Lane thinks we are making progress, and I agree. But I don’t think we agree on what that progress actually is. He makes four points that I would like to address. The first is on the “aliveness” of faith. “But in what does faith’s aliveness consist? Does it not consist in sanctification? Does it not …
No Jesus, No Way/Amos 6
INTRODUCTION: In this next section, we are going to have to follow the way Amos arranged the unit, which, although it starts at verse 1, does not match the chapter divisions (vv. 1-17). This section is a chiasm, and again, not surprisingly, it is seven-fold. THE TEXT: “Hear ye this word which I take up …
Haman and Mordecai
In my morning Bible reading, I have been going through the book of Esther. Now in our circles, I am aware of a common reading of the text that says Mordecai was in the wrong for refusing to bow before Haman. Here are just a couple quick reasons why I can’t see it. The reversal …
Obedience Unto Justification
Let me begin this round of my exchanges with Lane with straight up agreement on at least one point. Lane says: “In my opinion, this whole issue is very parallel to the debate about faith’s aliveness. It is not the aliveness of faith that makes faith the instrument of justification. Rather, it is the fact …
Protecting the Defenseless
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 144 “Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless: for their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee” (Prov. 23:10-11). The world of property, fields, and assets is a world which …
The Sin of Soul Subversion
We now come to the sin of subversion. The edict from the Jerusalem council, seeking to reassure the Gentile Christians, said that certain men who claimed to be representing the thought of the church leaders were actually just troubling people and subverting (anaskeuadzo) souls (Acts 15:24). The way they were doing this was through insisting …
Or By Being Run Through a World-Class Sound System
“Nonsense does not improve by being bellowed” (Charles Spurgeon, An All-Round Ministry, p. 42).